Transforming America’s Power System

Columbia Energy Exchange

The headline from this year’s World Energy Outlook released by the International Energy Agency says, “The world is on the brink of a new age of electricity.” In the United States, electrification is set to transform the energy landscape, and the nation is expected to see a rapid rise in power demand.

Questions remain over how this demand will be met, and if this means increasing carbon emissions from the power sector. These questions are further complicated by the rise of artificial intelligence and an antiquated and fragmented electric grid.

So how do efforts to decarbonize the century-old power system impact both reliability and the cost of electricity? And what does this new era of rising electricity demand mean for domestic manufacturing, AI data centers, and other industries?

This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Cheryl LaFleur and David Hill about the incoming Trump administration, its impact on FERC, and the status of permitting reform measures.

Cheryl is an advisory board member at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Previously, she was one of the longest-serving commissioners on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2010 to 2019, and served twice as FERC’s chair. Since 2019, Cheryl has served on the board of directors of the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE).

David is a non-resident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Energy during the George W. Bush administration. From 2012 to 2018, he served as executive vice president and general counsel of NRG Energy, Inc.